One of the first mods in the Hogwarts Legacy adds, as is tradition, ThomasBroom mod (opens in new tab), created by Showie, which turns Moon Trimmer's broom into a jolly blue locomotive and makes your avatar make it look like you're in the driver's seat.

According to Showie, this "has some clipping and culling issues, but we decided to release it as is for now. All you need to do in-game is unlock the broomstick (opens in new tab), and needless to say, the NexusMods response has been rapturous, but even in the midst of repeated gaming memes, the Thomas the Tank Engine mod still makes me smile. It all started in 2019, of course, with a mod for "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" that replaced the dragon with Thomas and added show sound effects

. Since then, Thomas has rained fire in "Fallout 4" (open in new tab) and his little engine roared in "Monster Hunter: World" (open in new tab). Thomas became Mr. X in "Resident Evil 2" (open in new tab) and Lady Dimitrescu in "Resi Village" (open in new tab). In addition, Thomas replaced the serpent in "Sekiro" (open in new tab), was summoned to Valheim as a Norse god (open in new tab), made his only cameo in "Kingdom Hearts 3" (open in new tab), and appeared in "Elden Ring" (open in new tab).

As for Hogwarts Legacy, PCG's review is still in progress (open in new tab), but the critical reception (open in new tab) has so far been generally positive (except for those plagued by performance issues (open in new tab)). Of course, that is happening in the broader context of the ongoing controversy over the game's connection to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling (open in new tab).